So last Thursday night as I was driving home from school I see firetrucks and police going crazy down the highway a few miles before my exit. I'm thinking an accident or something like that and soon enough I make it home and forget all about it. The next morning on the news I learn that there was actually a significant fire to a row of townhomes nearby. Apparently someone left a charcoal grill unattended and next thing you know... According to the news no one was injured but 12 people were out of their homes and a couple hundred thousand dollars worth of damage was done. Immediately I started thinking about our townhome and all kinds of thoughts about safety and what if our neighbors place were to catch on fire, etc etc. When we set up our Guardian we also opted for a smoke communicator in addition to the standard smoke detectors but I just started wondering how hazardous living in a townhome might really be. Flash forward to Monday morning update email from the PM and conveniently enough he addressed this very concern without my even asking! Below is a picture of the framing and as he explained, between the homes is a green and purple board called a firewall or partywall, which is a fire rated drywall giving two hours of protection in the event of a fire. It is attached by burn clips to fireblocks in the studbays, so in the event of a fire, the burn clips will melt at a certain temperature and the attached home then detaches allowing the structure on either side to be left intact. Pretty amazing and yet again I am surprised by how little I know about this whole process!
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| View from the back |
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| Starting to have a third floor! |
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| Side view |
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| I saw stairs. doors and windows piled up.. and of course I must document everything... so here is a picture of stairs:) |
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| Pano from the front street |
As you can see some major progression!! Every time we swing by I feel like I need to close my eyes and not peek until we get there since so much is happening so quickly! I told my husband to do the same but he was driving so...
Apparently this week they will finish the framing and shingle the roof, and then the HVAC contractor will begin working.
Wow that's good to know!
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